Lobbying Laws Are Lacking in Florida Independent Special Districts
<b>Update: January 22, 2014</b> (see below)<br>
<br>
Yesterday, the Broward <i>Bulldog,</i> in Broward County, FL (home of Ft.
Lauderdale), published <a href="http://www.browardbulldog.org/2014/01/independent-special-districts-whe…; target="”_blank”">an
excellent investigative report on the lack of lobbying laws</a> in
Florida's 992 independent special districts, which together spend
many billions of dollars of taxpayer money every year. These special districts
do everything from water management, mosquito control, and community
development to running public hospitals, ports, and airports. They
include both local and regional districts. One Florida county has 83
independent special districts.<br>
<br>
The larger districts enter into contracts and other transactions for many millions of
dollars a year, and deal with lobbyists frequently. And yet the state does not
require them to have lobbying laws. The state doesn't require this
of any local governments, although many of them do have such laws.
But these laws do not apply to independent special districts, only to
dependent ones, such as community redevelopment agencies. Of the
38 independent districts with annual budgets in excess of $50
million, only 3 reported having some form of lobbyist regulation;
another prohibits lobbying in its bylaws. The other 34, without
lobbying regulation, have cumulative annual spending of $7.1
billion. Of the 7 districts that levy the most property taxes each
year, only 1 provides for lobbying registration. It does so by
voluntarily following the county's lobbying law and asking lobbyists
to register there.<br>
<br>
Of the 2 districts that handle lobbying disclosure themselves, one
does not require lobbyists to file expenditure reports and
disclosures are not posted online. That leaves <a href="http://www.orlandoairports.net/lobbyist/index.htm" target="”_blank”">the
district that runs Orlando's airport</a> as the only
district with a real lobbying program of its own. Attorneys in the
field say that no other independent special districts require
lobbyists to register or disclose.<br>
<br>
Even small districts have reason to set up a lobbying oversight program. Its
cost is minimal and setting one up is easy, because one need only follow the local lobbying law and website, or those
of the Orlando airport district. Registration and oversight charges
can be paid out of registration fees, or the city or county can handle the registration and disclosure.<br>
<br>
Small districts can attract
the attention of lobbyists by having one or two large contracts, or
by discussing plans for future expansion. For example, according to
the article, the $12 million <a href="http://www.lwdd.net/v2/" target="_blank">Lake Worth Drainage District</a> has for several
years been exploring the establishment of a regional water utility
to address southeast Florida’s future drinking water supplies. The
project may involve a $1 billion investment in infrastructure, land
acquisition, etc. There's a district that should certainly have a
lobbying law.<br>
<br>
It's not that special districts don't know about lobbying. Many of
them hire their own lobbyists. The problem is that few people know about the districts and what they do, not to mention their ethics programs. There is no
one to hold the districts accountable.<br>
<br>
What I found most refreshing about the article is that the support for lobbying programs from the president
of the <a href="http://www.fasd.com/" target="_blank">Florida
Association of Special Districts</a>, himself the executive
director of a large independent special district. He said that lobbyist
registration would help those who work at special districts better
understand those who may approach them. “Are they trying to persuade
me of a position based on their remuneration or employment? It’s a
matter of understanding who you are talking to. ... It would
certainly further transparency.”<br>
<br>
One thing that is missing from the article is the fact that a
lobbying law may not be the best solution to the problem. Much of
the lobbying of such special districts involves contracts.
Procurement-related lobbying can be prevented by strict ex parte
communication provisions, which prevent anyone from talking to
anyone involved in procurement. After all, this isn't really lobbying. This
is an attempt to influence people outside of the writing of
procurement proposals, which is what procurement decisions are supposed to be based on. Unlike with issues, procurement programs are permitted to ensure a even playing field. An ex parte communications provision is the best way to do this.<br>
<br>
But it doesn't hurt to have a lobbying oversight program, as well. In any event, many districts deal with other areas, where ex parte
communications rules may not be appropriate or sufficient. These should certainly
either pass lobbying laws or sign on to a lobbying oversight program
in their city or county, or in one of the programs in their region.<br>
<br>
Florida is not an outlier. Around the country, there are many independent special districts with decent ethics program, but most lack both ethics and lobbying oversight programs, and the programs they do have lack transparency.<br>
<br>
<b>Update: January 22, 2014</b><br>
For those who think an article can't have an effect on legislation, less than a week after the Broward <i>Bulldog</i> published the article discussed above, state legislators said they would introduce legislation that would require the registration of all those who lobby independent special districts in Florida (according to <a href="http://www.browardbulldog.org/2014/01/senate-leaders-want-special-distr…; target="”_blank”">an article in yesterday's <i>Bulldog</i></a>). Job well done, <i>Bulldog!</i><br>
<br>
Robert Wechsler<br>
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics<br>
<br>
---